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Article
Publication date: 31 January 2024

Huthaifa Al-Hazaima, Mary Low and Umesh Sharma

This paper applies a stakeholder salience theoretical framework to facilitate the understanding of the roles salient stakeholders can have in the integration of education for…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper applies a stakeholder salience theoretical framework to facilitate the understanding of the roles salient stakeholders can have in the integration of education for sustainable development, one of the important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), into Jordan’s university accounting education.

Design/methodology/approach

We used stakeholder salience theory to inform our study. This study adopted a qualitative research method. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative, open-ended data that explored the salient stakeholders’ thoughts, beliefs and feelings about their roles in influencing the integration of education for sustainable development into the Jordanian accounting curriculum.

Findings

The results indicate that education for sustainable development in accounting is important; however, most Jordanian salient stakeholders indicate their inability to integrate sustainable education into the accounting curriculum due to their lack of power to do so. The findings show that there is currently an inappropriate distribution of power, legitimacy and urgency amongst the salient stakeholders, who indicate that a progressive education solution is required in the critical area of education for sustainable development in accounting. This research indicates that a significant number of salient stakeholders would like the Jordanian government to provide power, legitimacy and urgency to enable accounting educators to become definite stakeholders as this will enable them to integrate sustainable education into the accounting curriculum.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to Jordan only. The paper draws attention to the need for an appropriate distribution of power, legitimacy and urgency amongst salient stakeholders in Jordan.

Practical implications

This paper provides evidence that the salient stakeholders in this emerging economy want to make changes in their education system to address climate change concerns, an important SDG, through a better education curriculum for sustainable development in Jordanian universities.

Social implications

Accounting educators should be given the power to make changes in the accounting curriculum, such as integrating education for sustainable development.

Originality/value

There is an inappropriate distribution of power, legitimacy and urgency amongst the Jordanian salient stakeholders and this imbalance hinders the integration of education for sustainable development into the accounting curriculum.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2021

Huthaifa Al-Hazaima, Mary Low and Umesh Sharma

This paper aims to examine the perceptions of salient stakeholders in Jordan concerning the importance of integrating sustainability education (SE) into the accounting curriculum.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the perceptions of salient stakeholders in Jordan concerning the importance of integrating sustainability education (SE) into the accounting curriculum.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses salient stakeholder theory as a lens and seeks to explore the possible integration of SE into the Jordanian tertiary accounting curriculum. A final sample of 702 salient stakeholders including university accounting educators, accounting students, industry accountants, government representatives and accounting association professional members were used to glean an insight of their views and the extent to which sustainability is present in accounting education.

Findings

Findings indicate that there is a strong belief by these salient stakeholders that there is significant importance for the integration of SE into the accounting curriculum in Jordanian universities. There is concern that the current curriculum does not meet the educational needs of future accountants and business executives from a sustainability perspective.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the research debate on the competencies crisis in accounting education by focusing on the lack of SE in the accounting curriculum. This study draws attention to the need of up-skilling and applied knowledge in this critical area. There are strong viewpoints from the salient stakeholders in this study. They emphasise that a progressive education solution is required and which integrates SE into the accounting curriculum.

Practical implications

The research is useful to accounting educators, professional accounting associations, industry, accounting students and the government. The salient stakeholders in Jordan wish to include SE within the accounting curriculum. This would lead to future accountants and business executives having stronger competencies to respond in a resilient and resourceful manner to changes in the way business is conducted, especially in an area where societal and environmental impacts are highly scrutinised.

Originality/value

This study provides evidence on how salient stakeholders of an emerging economy can influence, provide guidance and leadership in integrating SE in the accounting curriculum. Engaging actively and extensively with research studies such as this allows them to voice their opinions about the importance of sustainability and how their country can better engage in this increasingly important field.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 December 2009

Lorne Cummings and Chris Patel

The objective of this chapter is to outline the implications of the results of the study of stakeholder theory and managerial strategy. The difference in stakeholder salience…

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to outline the implications of the results of the study of stakeholder theory and managerial strategy. The difference in stakeholder salience between countries has implications for the strategic management of organisations, whether their operations are local or multinational. The differing perceptions of legitimacy, power, and urgency accorded to the various stakeholders within the study would appear to indicate that not all stakeholders are perceived equally across different geographical contexts. Stakeholders, as well as the organisations with which they are associated, are shaped by social, political, and economic forces. The effect of culture on organisational management has been documented extensively in previous literature.

Details

Managerial Attitudes toward a Stakeholder Prominence within a Southeast Asia Context
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-255-5

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 September 2019

Sanjaya C. Kuruppu, Markus J. Milne and Carol A. Tilt

The purpose of this paper is to examine how legitimacy is gained, maintained or repaired through direct action with salient stakeholders and/or through external reporting, by…

8387

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how legitimacy is gained, maintained or repaired through direct action with salient stakeholders and/or through external reporting, by using a number of empirical case vignettes within a single case study organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study investigates a foreign affiliate of a large multinational organisation involved in an environmentally sensitive industry. Data collection included semi-structured interviews with 26 participants, organisational reports and participation in the organisation’s annual environmental management seminar and a stakeholder engagement meeting.

Findings

Four vignettes featuring environmental issues illustrate the complexity of organisational responses. Issue visibility, stakeholder salience and stakeholder interconnectedness influence a company’s action to manage legitimacy. In the short-term, environmental issues which affected salient stakeholders resulted in swift and direct action to protect pragmatic legitimacy, but external reporting did not feature in legitimacy management efforts. Highly visible issues to the public, regulators and the media, however, resulted in direct action together with external reporting to manage wider stakeholder perceptions. External reporting was used superficially, along with a broad suite of communication strategies, to gain legitimacy in the long-term decision about the company’s future in New Zealand.

Research limitations/implications

This paper outlines how episodic encounters to manage strategic legitimacy with salient stakeholders in the short-term are theoretically distinct, but nonetheless linked to continual efforts to maintain institutional legitimacy. Case vignettes highlight how pragmatic legitimacy via dispositional legitimacy can be managed with direct action in the short-term to influence a limited range of salient stakeholders. The way external reporting features in legitimacy management is limited, although this has predominantly been the focus of prior research. Only where an environmental incident damages legitimacy to a larger number of stakeholders is external reporting also used to buttress community support.

Originality/value

The concept of legitimacy is comprehensively applied, linking the strategic and institutional arms of legitimacy and illustrating how episodic actions are taken to manage legitimacy in the short-term with continual efforts to manage legitimacy in the long-term. Stakeholder salience and networks are brought in as novel theoretical extensions to provide a deeper understanding of the interrelationships between these key concepts with a unique case study.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 32 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2020

Marcus Vinicius de Souza Silva Oliveira, João Simão and Sandra Sofia Ferreira da Silva Caeiro

Encouraged by the State, the Brazilian public organizations practice sustainable procurement as one of the strategies to promote sustainable development. Performing them requires…

Abstract

Purpose

Encouraged by the State, the Brazilian public organizations practice sustainable procurement as one of the strategies to promote sustainable development. Performing them requires understanding to manage stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to identify and categorize the stakeholders of Brazilian public organizations’ sustainable procurement system.5

Design/methodology/approach

Preliminarily, the stakeholders were identified in the literature and by interviews with experts. Later, in a multi-case study, it was categorized by the model of stakeholder salience.

Findings

In general, governmental and intra-organizational stakeholders were classified as more salient. However, some stakeholders considered important by literature and experts have been categorized as less salient by organizations.

Originality/value

The proposed categorization is useful for the system comprehension and will serve as a basis for the development of future works, notably those who propose to understand or evaluate the sustainable public procurement (SPP). Additionally, this work aims to enlarge the knowledge and the better practices of SPP in a large emerging South American country, giving its contribution to the transition to more sustainable societies.

Details

Journal of Public Procurement, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1535-0118

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2011

Amir Grinstein and Arieh Goldman

Managers often face a number of dilemmas with respect to their stakeholders: Who are the most salient ones? How many should they target? How to allocate attention/efforts among…

2492

Abstract

Purpose

Managers often face a number of dilemmas with respect to their stakeholders: Who are the most salient ones? How many should they target? How to allocate attention/efforts among them? Based on stakeholders and market orientation research this paper aims to address these dilemmas.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a survey of managers in a cross‐industry sample of 115 firms. The authors first identify a specific group of salient stakeholders – those providing the firm with revenues and financial support. The article then studies the conditions under which firms should adopt a key approach to stakeholders' management – a “generalist” stakeholder strategy, that is, deal with a larger number of revenue and funding producing stakeholder types, and/or more evenly spread attention/efforts among them.

Findings

The findings suggest that a generalist stakeholder strategy has a positive effect on firms' performance among resource‐rich firms and among firms who face dissimilar (“unrelated”) stakeholders. Also, degree of environmental volatility was not found to moderate the relationship between a generalist stakeholder strategy and firms' performance.

Research limitations/implications

The study contributes to the marketing and stakeholder literatures by identifying and studying a group of important stakeholders beyond final consumers – those providing the firm with revenues and financial support, and by studying the conditions under which firms benefit from one key approach to stakeholders – a “generalist” stakeholder strategy. The study's limitations characterize most cross‐sectional survey research (e.g. single informants, subjective performance assessments). However, substantial efforts were made to ensure the validity and robustness of the findings.

Practical implications

The study offers managers insight into the organizational and environmental conditions under which firms should adopt a generalist stakeholder strategy.

Originality/value

This is one of the few papers that integrate into the marketing literature the study of stakeholders. Specifically, it introduces the concept of a generalist stakeholder strategy.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 45 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Eleanor R.E. O'Higgins and Joseph W. Morgan

To study relationships between focal organisations and their stakeholders in a generic way, beyond the agency/transaction cost approach usually used in business research. The…

1790

Abstract

Purpose

To study relationships between focal organisations and their stakeholders in a generic way, beyond the agency/transaction cost approach usually used in business research. The domain was political parties and their stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Study participants were officials and activists in five major Irish political parties. They were asked to nominate their most important stakeholders, to rate these stakeholders on salience as represented by power, legitimacy and urgency and to describe extent and intensity of their party engagement with these stakeholders.

Findings

Stakeholders considered more important to the organisation receive higher levels of engagement from the parties than those stakeholders thought to be less critical. The results suggest that high levels of stakeholder engagement can yield beneficial electoral results for political parties. The importance of looking after “internal stakeholders” is also supported. The three attributes of power, legitimacy and urgency do not seem to describe completely the salience of stakeholders to all organisations in a generic sense. The adequacy of the three attributes is most supported in mainstream organisations with a focused pragmatic orientation toward “winning”. However, it appears that more ideologically oriented organisations may assign higher salience to stakeholders who fit their ideology, as opposed to those who possess power, legitimacy and urgency.

Research limitations/implications

The ideological dimension of stakeholder salience which emerged in this study is worthy of further exploration, especially in its implications for actual stakeholder engagement and behaviour with respect to corporate social responsibility.

Practical implications

In the business arena – the study suggests that high levels of stakeholder engagement can yield beneficial results. It also demonstrates the importance of looking after internal stakeholders.

Originality/value

Discovery of dynamics between a focal organisation and its stakeholders in a more generic way than offered in traditional business research.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 June 2019

Cletus Agyenim-Boateng and Kofi Oduro-Boateng

The purpose of this paper is to investigate disaster accountability process, and it seeks to advocate for involvement of victims as salient stakeholders in the accountability…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate disaster accountability process, and it seeks to advocate for involvement of victims as salient stakeholders in the accountability process.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt a case study of the 3rd June, 2015 flood disaster and fire that occurred in Accra, Ghana and draw mainly on interviews, as well as observations and a review of publicly available documents.

Findings

Several actors are involved in disaster management in Ghana. These actors play several roles as part of the disaster management process. Coordination is observed among some governmental actors. However, there is a little collaboration among these actors. There are, therefore, no clear accountability relationships between the actors. Moreover, the forms of accountability process are largely upward and internal. So, although we find the victims as salient stakeholders, their perspectives are not prioritised as part of the accountability process.

Research limitations/implications

As a result of less engagement with victims in the accountability process, a central accountability concern, outcomes, namely, benefits for victims in terms of changes in their knowledge, status, attitudes, values, skills, behaviours or conditions were not promoted. Downward accountability should be encouraged to promote better outcomes.

Originality/value

Although some studies on accounting for disasters have been undertaken, there is none in our local context, and also this study has been able to uncover under-representation of victims in the accountability process using adaptive accountability lens.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2017

Andrea Pérez, Carlos López and María del Mar García-De los Salmones

Based on the principles of stakeholder theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the information reported to stakeholders in corporate social…

1931

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the principles of stakeholder theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the information reported to stakeholders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and companies’ CSR reputation (CSRR).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper implements two regression models to test how reporting to stakeholders influences the CSRR of 84 companies included in the Spanish “MercoEmpresas Responsables” reputation index.

Findings

The results demonstrate that greater global reporting intensity to stakeholders does not necessarily mean a better CSRR. Contrarily, the reporting-reputation link depends on the intensity of reporting to specific stakeholders such as investors, regulators and the media. The findings are explained largely by the institutional, political and business characteristics of Spain after the Great Recession of 2007-2008.

Research limitations/implications

The evidence reported in this paper confirms stakeholder theory as an adequate framework to understand corporate reporting to stakeholders and its relationship with CSRR. The findings suggest that stakeholder salience (i.e. power, legitimacy and urgency) is a key concept for understanding the reporting-reputation link better in future research.

Practical implications

In the light of the findings, companies willing to use reporting to stakeholders as a tool to improve CSRR should establish regular mechanisms for monitoring stakeholder power, legitimacy and urgency, provide complete information to investors in their CSR reports and minimize the amount of detail provided to regulators and the media in their CSR reports.

Originality/value

There is still little empirical evidence concerning how the information to stakeholders contained in CSR reports influences the processes by which CSRR is built or destroyed. This paper contributes to the previous literature by describing how the global intensity of reporting to stakeholders and the intensity of reporting to different stakeholder groups relate to CSRR.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2019

Natchanont Komutputipong and Prae Keerasuntonpong

Public sector entities face conflicting demands from stakeholders. The literature suggests identifying and prioritizing stakeholders can improve accountability. Thailand, an…

Abstract

Purpose

Public sector entities face conflicting demands from stakeholders. The literature suggests identifying and prioritizing stakeholders can improve accountability. Thailand, an emerging economy, and currently under military rule, provides an interesting context to investigate stakeholder tensions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why the Thai Government bureaucrats prioritize their stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on the managerial branch of stakeholder theory and stakeholder salience theory to examine the importance of various stakeholders and of the stakeholderssalient attributes perceived by the Thai Government bureaucrats in discharging its accountability. The study uses a survey questionnaire mailed out to the central government departments in Thailand.

Findings

The study finds that single most important stakeholder is the Office of the Auditor-General. The public is perceived as the second. This is dissimilar to the western-centric accountability focus on the public, and challenges claims by the Thai military coup that it will bring democratic rule. “Legal power” supporting the stakeholders’ claims for government accountability is the most influential attribute in determining stakeholder importance and prioritizing attention for government bureaucrat’s discharge of its accountability.

Originality/value

Such findings increase understanding of the applicability of stakeholder theory and stakeholder salience theory in the context of military rule in emerging economy countries such as Thailand. This paper also provides suggestions of how stakeholders may shape their salience in order to gain priority. This also provides an immediate suggestion for reforms of the Thai regulatory frameworks in prioritizing stakeholders and promoting the government’s greater accountability.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 8000